It’s funny how quickly things can change in the NFL.
About five weeks ago, fans of the Washington Football Team were calling for Taylor Heinicke to be benched amid a run of bad games.
We hammered that drum for a little bit, too. For as much success Heinicke had moving the ball downfield and conducting long drives, his inability to finish off drives in the red zone were contributing to losses.
Over the last three games, though, Heinicke is playing as good as any QB in the league. No, that isn’t an overstatement.
Sure, the red zone struggles returned in the win over Seattle, but he completed nearly 80% of his passes and showed tremendous poise in the pocket, ripping off a couple highlight-reel scrambles to avoid getting sacked.
In light of Heinicke’s dominant run of form, let’s highlight a few elite gunslingers he is currently performing better than.
3 top-tier QBs Taylor Heinicke is outperforming
3. Justin Herbert
There were a lot of QBs in contention for the third spot on this list. Josh Allen was considered, but his four-TD showing on Thanksgiving disqualified him. Baker Mayfield’s been dreadful, but probably doesn’t fall under the top-tier category.
You could even make a case for Ryan Tannehill, but that’d be a little harsh given his receiving corps is ravaged by injuries.
In the end, we gave the nod to Justin Herbert. Remember when the Chargers were on top of the world at 4-1 and gaining steam as a threat to supplant the Chiefs atop the AFC West? That feels like ages ago, because LA is now 6-5 and clinging to a Wild Card spot by the skin of its teeth.
A large reason for that? The inconsistency of Herbert. While the former No. 6 overall pick has tallied five games with a passer rating of 100.0 or better (three with 120.0 or better), he has six games with a rating lower than 90.0
Two of those have come in the Chargers last three games, both losses. During that span, the young phenom is completing 65.5% of his passes for 293.3 yards and six touchdowns to four interceptions.
Those stats might look OK on paper, but most of his INTs have come at the absolute worst times. In Sunday’s loss to Denver, Hebert threw a pick in the end zone with the Chargers trailing 14-7. The Broncos marched down the field on their ensuing possession to open up a two-score lead.
On the very next drive, Herbert tossed another interception that rookie Pat Surtain took 70 yards to the house to put the game on ice.
Heinicke might not be throwing for yards and TDs at the same clip as Herbert, but he’s also not putting his team’s back against the wall with poorly-timed turnovers, and that’s a huge part of playing the position at a high level.
2. Lamar Jackson
Any chance Lamar Jackson had at winning his second MVP in three years has been entirely vaporized in recent weeks.
The Sunday night tilt between Baltimore and Cleveland was so unwatchable that he want our money back…and we didn’t even attend the game!
Jackson, who had just returned after missing Week 11 with an illness, was a tad rusty. Perhaps he was still feeling the effects of his illness, because he turned in arguably the worst performance of his career, tossing four interceptions, three of which came in the second quarter alone.
Somehow, the Ravens pulled out the win. Probably because Baker Mayfield, who didn’t make the cut for this list, was just as bad under center.
For as putrid as Jackson was in that game, his struggles date back to Baltimore’s last three contests. In Week 10 vs Miami (again in primetime), he finished 26-of-43 for 238 yards and one TD to one INT in a losing effort. The week prior against Minnesota, he tossed two more interceptions, albeit in a win.
We’re not sure what’s going on with Jackson. He’s a huge reason why Baltimore owns the best record in the AFC at 8-3, but if he doesn’t start taking better care of the football, the Ravens aren’t going anywhere.
Would you look at that? Heinicke outshining a former MVP.
1. Matthew Stafford
Anyone know what’s wrong with Matthew Stafford? A report broke before the Rams’ loss to the Packers saying the veteran quarterback is dealing with a sore ankle, pain in his throwing arm/elbow and “chronic” back pain.
When you put it like that, it’s fair to say that litany of injuries are contributing to his struggles. At the same time, though, Stafford’s healthy enough to start and his performance has resembled that of Jared Goff, whom the Rams couldn’t ship out of town soon enough, in recent weeks.
Over the last three games (all losses), Stafford is completing just 614.% of his passes for 279.7 yards per game and five touchdowns to five interceptions. He’s thrown a pick six in three straight games, which seems impossible.
And don’t get seduced by his five TDs, either. One came with 24 seconds left in Week 9 that brought the Rams within 12 points of the Titans. The other came in the fourth quarter this past Sunday with Green Bay up 36-17.
You obviously can’t take those two touchdowns away from Stafford. Just don’t get tricked into thinking they were meaningful scores.
The bottom line is that Stafford is in one right now, and that’s a real shame given all the luxuries he’s working with in the Rams’ offense. The last time we checked, Heinicke doesn’t need lemons to make lemonade.